Post-mix fountains for dispensing carbonated beverages, such as sodas, have been used for years in various venues, such as convenience stores and restaurants. Post-mix fountains combine the ingredients of the carbonated beverage (e.g., syrup or concentrate and carbonated water) immediately prior to the beverage is dispensed into a glass. Such fountains are convenient and economical because they allow the convenience store or restaurant owner to purchase large quantities of syrup or concentrate and carbon dioxide used to make the beverage at bulk prices. Furthermore, less waste is produced and less space is used up by packaging, since the ingredients of the fountain beverage come in large containers, rather than smaller containers sold to consumers, such as, for example, twelve ounce beverage cans or two liter bottles. In addition, the fountain is convenient for uses to operate, because there is no need to open bottles or cans to fill a glass with beverage. One of the benefits of post-mix fountains is their ability to dispense each poured serving of beverage at a uniform carbonation level, typically using the carbonation level of a bottled or canned beverage as a reference.
These fountains typically require a separate canister of gas, such as carbon dioxide gas, to carbonate water that is mixed with the syrup to form the beverage, and to propel or pump the syrup from its container. Although this arrangement is appropriate for large-scale users such as convenience stores and restaurants, it is less advantageous for smaller-scale users, such as home users. However, home users can still realize many of the benefits of fountains, particularly the lower cost, reduced waste, and ease of use that such fountains offer.
Seltzer bottles for dispensing seltzer water from a bottle are also known in the art. These seltzer bottles typically use the carbonation of the seltzer water itself to propel it from the bottle, and do not require an additional container of the seltzer water itself to propel it from the bottle, and do not require an additional container of carbon dioxide. However, there are several drawbacks associated with this type of seltzer dispenser. For instance, such seltzer bottles are difficult to control and often are discharged with substantial force, causing the seltzer water to spray out of control. When seltzer water is dispensed in this manner foaming may occur, which causes the dispensed seltzer water to lose some of its carbonation and become “flat”. Another drawback with this type of seltzer bottle is that the pressure in the seltzer bottle is often depleted before all the contents of the container have been dispensed. Thus, a residual amount of unused material remains in the bottle and cannot be dispensed because there is insufficient pressure remaining to propel the residual material from the container.
The present inventors found that the pressure within such conventional seltzer bottles fluctuates as the beverage is depleted. That is when the seltzer bottle is full, the pressure within the bottle is at a maximum. As the seltzer bottle becomes depleted, the pressure within the bottle becomes correspondingly depleted. Since the pressure within the seltzer bottle decreases during its use, it follows that the pressure available to propel the beverage out of the bottle decreases as well. Therefore, the beverage may be propelled out of the bottle too quickly when the bottle is full and/or too slowly when the bottle is less than full.
Conventional cans of carbonated beverages are relatively inexpensive, but have the disadvantage that once they are opened, they cannot be resealed. Once opened, the carbon dioxide or other gas dissolved in the beverage gradually comes out of solution or “leaks.” Thus, if not consumed shortly after being opened cans of carbonated beverage will become flat. Accordingly, cans are not suitable for storing multiple servings of carbonated beverages.
Bottles are superior to cans in that they are able to be resealed after being opened, but when opened, the carbonation still escapes from the bottle. Thus, after a bottle has been opened several times, the beverage will begin to become flat. For this reason, even bottles are not well suited for containing multiple servings of carbonated beverages.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for a beverage dispenser that is inexpensive, easy for a home user to operate, and that eliminates the problems associated with the prior art dispensers, cans, and bottles. One aspect of the present invention is directed to remedying these and other deficiencies of the prior art dispensing devices.